Dispensing device



April 18, 1939. w. 1. HYLTON ET AL 2,155,191

DISPENSING DEVICE Filed March 27, 1957 FIG. 3.

I 1 I E 141 IIIIIIII IIIII I III I I II III I III I I INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED ETEN QFFIE DISPENSING DEVECE New Jersey Application March 27, 1937, Serial No. 133,318

5 Giaims.

This invention relates to a device for retaining, displaying and dispensing small articles or packages, such as tins of shoe polish, and the like.

An object of the invention has been to provide 5 a device of the character indicated which is simple and inexpensive to produce but serves very effectively for its intended purposes. The construction is such that the retaining means may be readily loaded from time to time and the articles may be readily removed, singly, whenever desired.

A special feature of the invention is the provision for the reception and ready advance of articles of irregular contour. This is of par- 15 ticular importance in the dispensing of shoe polish since the containers are usually provided with projectingkeymembers which are likely to become damaged if special and adequate provision is not made for these members.

20 Another important consideration is the arrangement of the various features of the construction in such a way as to provide a neat and compact device which serves to display and advertise to good advantage the articles to be dis- 5 pensed thereby.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of the same which will now be given in conjunction with the accom- Q panying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the device.

Fig. 2 is a back view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the device along the line 3-3 of Figure 4.

2 Fig. 4 is a plan view of the device, and

Fig. 5 is a View of the bottom of the device.

Referring now to the drawing, the illustrative display and dispensing device may suitably comprise a tubular member 59 formed of sheet 4 etal, such as sheet iron. This member may be substantially circular in cross section, except for a small projection to be later described, but is preferably so constructed as not to form a complete cylinder. A gap E is provided between the 45, free edges 52 and [3, thereby forming a slot extending longitudinally of the tube from top to bottom thereof. At the free edges i2 and E3 the metal is preferably folded over and doubled back upon itself to eliminate roughness and present 50 beaded or well rounded edges at the sides of the opening. In a similar way the top edge of the tube may be folded over, as indicated at M. To facilitate this folding operation, the portion I4 is notched, as indicated at M1 in Figure 3,

55 wherever an angular bend is provided in the tube.

The tube is not of strictly circular contour but the metal is bent angularly along certain lines to provide an offset extension i5 having three substantially flat sides It, i? and it forming a channei extending throughout the length of the 5 tube. his channel formation is provided adjacent the opening it and constitutes the back of the device. In this way there is left an unbroken, cylindrical surface over more than 180 at the front of the device for the reception of any appropriate advertising matter.

Below the lower end of the tube there is provided a shelf is slightly greater in diameter than the tube. This shelf, as best shown in Fig. 3, may be formed of sheet metal and preferably has a slightly depressed portion 28 at its center and elevated rim 2i around its edge. The free edge, moreover, is preferably made smooth and grounded by bending it downwardly and inwardly, as indicated at 22. To support the shelf is there go is provided a bracket 23 having two arms extending at right angles to each other. One arm is disposed parallel with the shelf l9 and may be secured to the latter by rivets E l, or the like, while the other arm is disposed vertically and may 25 be secured to the wall it of the channel formation of the tube, by means of rivets 25 or the like. The bracket member is preferably slightly narrower than the channel wall l'l so that the vertical arm of the bracket may fit readily within the channel. This is not, however, essential as it may be placed outside of the channel if it is of greater width. By placing a vertical arm of the bracket within the channel, the back of the device is left smooth and there is no part of it that projects beyond the back surface of the wall ll other than the small heads of the rivets 25. This allows for the ready attachment of the device to a wall or to any vertical post or strut forming part of the shelving or other display system in a store. Thus, the device may be attached to a vertical support by means of nails or screws passed through an aperture 26 in the wall i'l adjacent its upper end and an aperture Ell in the vertical arm of the bracket 23.

The improved dispensing and display device is particularly adapted for the handling of somewhat irregular articles, such as shoe polish tins, as indicated at 2% in broken lines in Fig. 1. These tins are ordinarily provided with a key member 29 projecting from one side thereof for the purpose of removing the lid whenever it is desired to use the contents of the tin. The channel conveniently accommodates the key elements 29 and allows the main cylindrical portion of the tube to 5 rather snugly surround the main body of the tin.

In loading the dispensing device, it is not ordinarily desirable to simply drop the tins into the top of the tube since they are apt to become twisted and jammed or even inverted in the course of descending through the tube and, moreover, they are likely to be damaged in dropping one upon another. Furthermore, the space between the shelf l9 and the bottom of the tube is somewhat greater than the height of one of the containers so that the lowermost container may be readily withdrawn whenever desired. Accordingly, if each tin were permitted to drop from the top to the bottom of the tube, it would be very apt to bounce or slide off the shelf l9and the loading of the tube would never be accomplished. To avoid these difficulties in loading the device, the tins are preferably grasped between the thumb and forefinger and so held as they are slid downwardly from top to bottom of the tube, the thumb and finger being permitted to pass freely along the opening H which, it will be un derstood, is of suitable width for this purpose. It is for this reason, moreover, that the edges l2 and [3 are beaded or rounded in the manner indicated and their upper ends are curved, as indicated at 33, to eliminate sharp corners. In a similar way the lower ends of the edges defining the opening may be curved, as indicated at 3!.

It will be observed that the lowermost container fits into the depressed portion of the supporting shelf so that the danger of accidental displacement of this container is largely avoided. It will also be noted that in view of the form of the bracket 23, a very large percentage of the circumference of the lower container is exposed, thereby enabling it to be readily grasped whenever it is desired to remove it from the device. As a container is withdrawn, the remaining containers in the tube will drop until the next one in the series is supported by the shelf. The number of containers remaining in the device may be observed at all times through the opening H so that it may be reloaded whenever required. Moreover, the containers will be held in a definite position within the device by the cooperation between the keys 29 and the channel Hi. This has the added advantage of maintaining whatever ornamentation or advertising matter, or the like, there may be on the edges of the containers in a definite relation to the opening l I so that a uniform and more attractive effect is produced.

While one form of the invention has been described in considerable detail, it will be understood that numerous changes may be made without departing from the general principles and scope of the invention. The terms and expressions used herein have been employed as terms of description and not of limitation.

What we claim is:

l. A device of the class described comprising a sheet metal member formed to provide a substantially but not completely closed cylindrical wall, said member being formed also to provide an outwardly extending channel-like extension a channel-like extension at one side of said wall throughout the length thereof and extending outwardly therefrom to provide a fiat wall for mounting said device, the free longitudinal edges of said member being folded upon themselves to define the edges of a slot arranged to permit the passage of a finger through and along the same,

said slot being disposed adjacent said channellike extension, and a shelf secured to said member disposed below the lower end of said wall and spaced therefrom.

3. A dispensing device for substantially circular containers having projections at one side thereof, comprising a substantially cylindrical tube with a channel shaped extension at one side thereof arranged to receive said projections and to :provide a flat wall for mounting said device, said tube having a slot extending the full length thereof adjacent said extension, and a shelf secured to said tube and disposed below the lower end thereof a distance greater than the thickness of one of said containers.

4. .A "dispensing device for substantially circular containers having projections at one side thereof, comprising a substantially cylindrical tube with a channel shaped extension at one side thereof arranged to receive said projections and to provide a flat wall for mounting said device, a shelf disposed below the lower end of said tube a distance slightly greater than the thickness of one of said containers, and a bracket having arms disposed at right angles to each other, one of said arms being secured .to said shelf and the other to a portionof said extension, said arm which is secured to the said extension being arranged so that the opening between said shelf andthe lower end of said tube extends substantially entirely around the periphery of said tube.

5. A dispensing device for substantially circular containers having projections at one side thereof, comprising a substantially cylindrical tube with a'channel shaped extension at one side thereof having a substantially flat outer wall and arranged to receive said projections, a shelf disposed below-the lower end of said tube a distance slightlygreater than the thickness of one of said containers, a relatively narrow bracket having arms disposedat right angles to each other, one of said arms being secured to said shelf and the other'to said extension wall, and means associated with'the outer wall of said extension providing for the securing of said device to a support.

WALTER I. HYLTON. JOSEPH J OSIN SKY. 

